How to Fill In Your Facebook Timeline

1. The Timeline Menu Bar

As you scroll down your new Timeline, a floating menu bar will appear at the top of your screen. Use it to add new events.

2. Work and Education

Events are divided into categories. The first is "Work and Education," in which you add jobs, studies, volunteer work and military service you completed before joining Facebook.

3. Family and Relationships

Next is "Family and Relationships," where you can note engagement and marriage events. Facebook also suggests you add the birth of your child or a pet adoption here. Finally, you may feel inspired to write your reaction in the "Lost a Loved One" category.

4. Living

"Living" events include relocation, buying a home and even getting a new roommate. For anyone who likes showing off their shiny wheels, Facebook also included a new vehicle category.

5. Health and Wellness

Facebook may have overstepped the privacy concerns of some users with its "Health and Wellness" section. It provides the opportunity to tell friends about broken bones, surgery or overcoming an illness.

6. Milestones and Experiences

Finally, "Milestones and Experiences" is the catch-all category, a broad yet flexible ode to all of life's turning points. Currently you have the option to add a hobby, a new language, a license, an achievement or award, a trip and a "piercing or tattoo." Hmmm, we'll all be looking forward to the pics, that's for sure.

7. "Other Life Event"

Facebook also allows user to add an "Other Life Event" to each category for circumstances that don't fit into its pre-set milestones.

8. Adding an Event

When you add an event, a pop-up window appears for you to complete simple fields relevant to said event. You can add more info via the "Story" box, and attach a suitable photo, either from pics you've already uploaded to Facebook or from your computer.

9. Privacy Options

Note that events you add to your Timeline default to "public" view. If you want to keep your events private to your friends, you need to click the drop-down menu on the bottom of the window to set your preferred privacy level. As well as selecting just your friends, you can also include relevant groups or set up a custom option.

10. The Event in Your Timeline

Once you've added and saved your event, it will show up large in your Timeline display, taking up a two-column space. We presume that because you've taken the time to add it, Facebook deems the event important to you.

11. Minimizing Events in Your Timeline

If this isn't the case, you can shrink the event down to one-column size. To minimize, click the star at the top-right of the event box.

12. Hiding or Deleting Events

You can also edit, hide or delete events from the same menu.

13. Your Recent Activity

Be aware that when you add an event to your Timeline, Facebook notifies your friends via the "Recent Activity" module. If you were hoping to fill in your Timeline with little attention, you can remove the alert by hovering over it and hitting the "X."

15. Adding Events Directly in the Timeline

Alternatively you can add events directly in the Timeline. This is a convenient feature, as you may find that looking back through your Timeline's existing content jogs your memory. To add an event in the Timeline just hover over the central blue line. Click the plus symbol that appears to add whatever kind of event suits your fancy.

16. And You?

We suspect the average Facebook user may add a few milestone events to fill in the blanks of their online past. On the other hand, maybe you're not willing to take the time to detail your past so thoroughly.

What do you think? Will you fill in your Timeline? Will your mom fill in hers? Will you click through to see other's Timeline events as they add them? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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